50 Curious Cocktails Inspired by the Works of Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey: Uneasy Elixirs
50 Curious Cocktails Inspired by the Works of Edward Gorey
Hardcover | Kindle Edition
By Virginia Miller
Publisher: Weldon Owen
Release date: October 21, 2025
Before Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Ransom Riggs’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, there was Edward Gorey. Born in 1925, Gorey first achieved success as a commercial designer, providing covers and art for over 500 books in his lifetime. Beginning in 1953, he began writing and illustrating his own works, including one of his best-known titles, 1963’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies, an illustrated alphabet book in which 26 children meet their untimely deaths. Both whimsical and macabre, Gorey’s books featured his pen-and-ink drawings in Victorian and Edwardian settings with morbid outcomes, earning him the title of the “Granddaddy of Goth.”
Given Gorey’s penchant for blending elegance with the unsettling, it’s only fitting that his 100th birthday is celebrated with Uneasy Elixirs: 50 Curious Cocktails Inspired by the Works of Edward Gorey, created in conjunction with the Gorey estate.
Inspired by the artist’s characters, settings, and artwork, food writer Virginia Miller creatively transforms mainly traditional cocktails into playful, Goreyesque concoctions, like with “Henry’s Demise” (a classic Army & Navy gin cocktail based on The Water Flowers) and “The Troubled Adverb” (an absinthe-based Hemingway favorite, “Death in the Afternoon,” inspired here by The Glorious Nosebleed). Each recipe is introduced with a brief biographical note that ties the drink to a specific work or a detail about Gorey’s life, such as his devotion to the New York City Ballet.
There are a few standout features in Uneasy Elixirs. One is its beautifully composed photographs of each cocktail in atmospheric settings. Honestly, the photos are so nice they’re almost intimidating! But if you enjoy mixology, you’ll be eager to recreate these libations.
Another standout — and it’s a big one — is that throughout this 128-page offering is original artwork and text from the Gorey archives. On top of that, it’s presented in a gorgeous hardcover with a die-cut window revealing Gorey’s “Cocktail Party” illustration (taken from his PBS Mystery! animation), making the book feel like a curated celebration of his peculiar world.
On a practical level, there’s a table of contents; a back-matter section of recipes for syrups and infusions; and an index organized by main ingredient type, from agave spirits to whiskey, as well as those that are low proof or non-alcoholic.
With its biographical tidbits, inspired recipes, original art, and stunning presentation, Uneasy Elixirs: 50 Curious Cocktails Inspired by the Works of Edward Gorey is more than just a cocktail guide; it’s a collectible, delightful oddity that Gorey admirers and Goth enthusiasts will want on their shelves whether they ever plan to mix a drink.
